The School of Dragons

by The Roaming Chicken

A teenager from a different tribe travels to Chief Hiccup of Berk's School of Dragons. While there, he joins the battle against Alvin the Treacherous' son, the new chief of the Outcasts, who wants to destroy the school, which is in the way of his conquest of Berk. However, only he knows the true magnitude of his plan. Will he be able to stop him and save the school?

2. Chapter 2

Hello and thank you for your support! This one took me a little longer to write, but I think it was worth it. Enjoy!

The School of Dragons

Chapter 2: Berk

"Dragon off starboard!" A shout roused me from the nap I was having. I hadn't realized that I would get seasick, but I found out pretty fast. It had been two days since we left the Ring Isles, and I had yet to see a dragon. I jumped up from where I had been lying on two crates and looked around. Men were pointing up at a distant speck of brown and red.

"Wow!" I cried. The distant dragon flew by us. It had a long rudder-like tail, large wings, and horns. We watched it until it faded off in the distance.

"I've heard of that dragon! It is called a Monster Flightmare!" an elder shouted. After that, we sighted no more dragons until the fifth day or our journey, when we stopped at an island with some wild dragons. Since I hadn't brought a tent, I slept on the ship, but I stayed up most of the night, listening to the calls of the dragons. On our ninth day, I was scribbling down some notes in my journal when a shout rang out from the crow's nest. "Berk! Straight ahead." I stuffed my journal into my bag and rushed to the front. A tall island rose out of the ocean, as clear and sharp as the Kulman dagger against a backdrop of the setting sun. "We'll reach Berk by tomorrow night." My heart jumped with excitement and nervousness. What if it wasn't as grand as Johann made it out to be? What if it was just like the Turgor tribe? I thought.
As the golden sun arose the next morning, the much closer island of Berk was bathed in majestic sunlight. We were so close I could see a few dragons near the coast. All the passengers on the ship stood still and silent, watching as the village came into view. Many colorful and majestic dragons flew about, circling, rising, and diving around the village. I spied two closer dragons, a spiky one and a green one with a long neck, who were much closer to us than the others. They flew over the water, in a steady pace, and then turned towards us. When they got close enough, I saw that they had riders. One of the elders raised the white flag to show we did not want to fight. The dragons continued to near us until they were right in front of the boat. One rider told his dragon to stop while the other addressed us.
"Hello travelers, where are you from?," the muscular viking asked us.
The captain of the ship answered, "We are representing the Turgor Tribe, and we would like to speak with your chief."
"Of course, Chief Hiccup would be please to talk with you. Tath, please inform the Chief if you will." The man said. The spiky dragon and his rider turned around and flew back to Berk. "Here, throw me a rope and I'll tow your ship there. It's a lot quicker." The man offered. The sailors looked at each other and murmured. Finally the captain spoke up.
"Well, throw him a rope!" He barked at the men. They scrambled to grab a mooring line and threw it towards the dragon. It caught it in it's claws and turned around.
"Hold on tight." The man said, but I was so focused on the amazing dragon that I wasn't prepared for the jolt as the ship was pulled forward. I fell back and knocked a barrel of fish over, spilling them all over me. One of the other teenagers on the boat laughed and pointed at me until he slipped on a fish and fell flat on his face. He got up groaning and rubbing his nose. The men gathered at the front of the boat, peering closely at the long, thin dragon.
Mutters of, "Amazing," and "It looks powerful," floated back to me along with the spray of water churned up from our speedy trip. I stood up and cleaned up the fish, then sat down and took in the amazing village of Berk. We were going twice as fast as we had been for the last few days, and before I knew it, we were at the docks. A massive green building hung precariously above us, and many dragons entered and exited. I saw catapults, huge torches, and a large platform that a crowd could sit on. And of course the many ships and docks that were immediately in front of us. The dragon rider had just dropped the tow-line and our crew had begun to moor the ship to the dock when a loud horn blew. Many of the people walking about stopped and looked at us, and began gathering at the docks. Some more riders landed their dragons next to us, including the rider that had towed us. We began disembarking on the docks, staring at the gathering crowd. I steadied myself and began stepping on the rickety old dock, when the captain and chief warrior cleared his throat loudly and put his arm in front of me.
"Oh, right, of course." I stuttered, going through my bag and pulling out the beautiful Kulman dagger. I hesitated a little, then placed it softly in his rough hands. He looked at it without expression and dropped it into a brown deerskin sack. I sighed and heaved both my sacks onto the dock. While the rest of the passengers unloaded the gifts, I remembered with seriousness the mission my clan had given me. I must not fail them, I thought. I was shaken out of my thoughts by a group of dragons landing in front of us. The spiky dragon rider from earlier was there, along with a young woman riding another spiky dragon and a man riding a large, horned dragon. The most noticeable rider, however, was the young man wearing armor who had dismounted a sleek black dragon. That must be Chief Hiccup, I thought with excitement.
"Welcome to Berk, my scout tells me you are from the Turgor Tribe. Who is your leader?" Chief Hiccup asked them. The captain and the elders stepped forward.
"Greetings, Chief Hiccup. I am representing the Turgor Tribe." The captain replied, shaking Hiccup's hand.
"What can we do for you?" Chief Hiccup returned, smiling.
"We know you have great power and the ability to conquer even the most dangerous foes, and we want to be allied to you."
"I am a man of peace," Hiccup began, "and I would be honored to be allied to your tribe. Come with us to the Great Hall, and we can discuss everything." The captain nodded, and we all picked up our bags and crates and followed the Chief. I could barely take my eyes off the Chief's dragon, it was the most amazing dragon I had seen so far. What confused me though, was the leather and metal tail he had on. What could have happened to his tail, I thought. Although the bags I was carrying were heavy and the road from the docks to the village was steep, I was used to hard labor and was able to focus more on the beauty around me. The crowds followed us up the docks, yelling greetings and sometimes offering to help us carry our things. A flock of small green dragons came up to me and sniffed my packs. Finding nothing of interest, they flew over to another teenager and sniffed at his pack. They must have stolen something since I heard the boy shouting angrily later. More people flew in on dragons, including ones on strange bee-like ones and a large dragon with four wings. These are nice people, I thought to myself. I smiled as I saw a kind-looking man with a braided beard hoist his son up on his shoulders. Everything about Berk was so beautiful and interesting that I wished I could write it all down in my journal that instant. I was especially awed by a gigantic statue of a viking man carved into the mountain. Chief Hiccup was talking with the elders as they walked, and I walked closer to them to hear.
"Yeah he's one of the rarest dragons out there. We call them Night Furies." Hiccup explained.
"He looks faster than the others. How fast can he go?" An elder asked. The black dragon had what appeared to be a proud look in his eyes.
"So fast he has been known to break the sound barrier when he dives." He replied. The elders and I gasped.
"That's incredible!" I said, receiving glares from the elders. I gulped and looked at the ground. The night fury warbled something and Hiccup looked at him.
"Oh, don't be so modest, Toothless." He said with a sarcastic glint in his voice. We all looked at him surprised. "Yes, I can understand dragons." He continued, like he was merely stating the weather.
"How?" an elder blurted out.
"Well, my mother has lived twenty years with dragons and knows their language. She taught me and many of the Dragon Riders." He returned gesturing towards an old lady walking next to the four-winged dragon. I felt a large tap on the shoulder and turned around to see an annoyed-looking elder.
"Young Felman, you will not speak to the Chief, we will not have you make a bad impression on him." He murmured condescendingly.
"I'm sorry sir. I will do as you say." I replied, masking my disdain for the way I was being treated. He nodded at me and moved closer to the chief. By this time, we had reached two large doors in a small mountain, which I assumed contained their great hall. Toothless and the young woman's spiky dragon opened the doors for us and we walked in. The great hall was not very interesting compared to the rest of the village, but it was still new to me because of its location within a mountain.
"Please, take a seat at any of these tables." the chief offered. I sat down near the back and watched as the rest of my tribe sat down as well, minus the captain and elders. The chief sat on his throne next to a young woman who must be his wife and the old woman he had said had taught him how to understand dragons.
"First let me introduce myself and some of the most important people on Berk. My name is Hiccup Haddock III, and this is my wife Astrid Haddock and my mother Valka Haddock. The general of my dragon army, Eret son of Eret, and the general of my viking army, Snotlout Jorgenson." He pointed to each of the people as he spoke about him. The elders nodded at them and gave their names. "Now then, can you tell me about your tribe while we draft up a treaty?" the Chief asked. One of the Vikings near the chief, an old man missing a leg and an arm, began scribbling on a piece of paper silently. One elder, who my father had told me was the chief storyteller of our tribe, began telling the Chief of our tribe. I noticed with a sigh that he didn't say a thing about the Kulman clan. The elder finished with the story of Johann's latest trip and Hiccup's invitation to the tribes to send young men to the School of Dragons and their decision to take him up on that offer.
"Yes, it will be good to have your young men at the School. So many tribes in our archipelago have recently done the same thing, but this is the first time a tribe outside the Barbaric Archipelago has."
"How many boys will be going to the school?" the Chief's wife asked.
"Eight, my lady." An elder replied stiffly. That wasn't right, I thought. There are nine clans, including the Kulmans. They left me out of the count!, I realized, standing up.
"Nine!" I shouted from the back of the room as bravely as I could. Many eyes turned to me, including the elders' and the chief's.
"Nine, I mean." grumbled the elder, glaring at me. Everyone's eyes went back to him and I let out a breath I didn't know I'd been holding. That was about the boldest thing I've ever done in my life, I thought. I sat back down trying to ignore the glares from the other teenagers.
"Well then, we'll be glad to have them. Young men," Hiccup said, turning to the boys sitting near the middle. "Please talk with Jgarn Larson to arrange for your journey there." He pointed to a viking near me who smiled at them. "You can stay at the school for four years if you want, but most students leave after two. And remember, you are free to visit your families during the holidays and during winter break." We all nodded and some thanked him. The boys and I got up and followed Jgarn to the back of the hall.
"Hello boys, I am Jgarn Larson. I bet you are pretty excited to be able to go to the School of Dragons, eh?" I nodded my head vigorously. "Well I am honored to be able to escort you there. You all have 525 coins for tuition, and some money for the trip, aye?"
"Yes," we all answered.
"Alright then, follow me to the house where you'll spend the night, we'll sail to the school in the morning." Some boys went to say goodbye to their parents who had been on board the ship, and I took this moment to ask the man a question.
"Sir, I need to trade some things for the coins to pay you, do you know anywhere I can do that?" I asked him, feeling really embarrassed. He bent down and looked at me.
"Well laddie, the passage is only 20 coins, but I'd be willing to take goods instead."

"Thank you sir," I said, opening my pack, "I've got some sacks of grain, Wool, a chicken feather pillow, three blankets, and a whole bag of salt." The salt was probably the most valuable thing that I owned, my family had bought it from Trader Johann on his last visit.
"Hmm, my wife could use some wool for her spinning. How much ya got?"
"Two small bags, sir." I replied, showing him the wool.
"I'll take it. You can give it to me tomorrow before we set out." He told me. By this time, all the teenagers had gathered around him again. "Okay everyone, follow me." He led us down a path towards a portion of Berk near the cliff. Many of the villagers were inside the great hall, but most of the dragons stayed outside. I became very excited again as I saw all the different kinds of dragons. Finally we stopped at a a large house and Jgarn knocked on the door. An middle-aged man opened the door.

"Ack, we have some very new students to the School that need a place to stay tonight. Do you have room?" Jgarn asked the man.

"Of course. My boarding house is always open." the man replied. Jgarn said good-bye to us and went towards the docks, presumably to get a ship ready. The man then turned to us. "Hello boys, my name is Ack Johansen, but you can call me Mr. Ack. You'll meet my wife in a moment when she comes home from getting water." He said to us. One of the bee-like dragons that looked like rocks came out of the house and stood beside the man. It's huge rough tongue hung out of his mouth and he did what I assumed was a dragon's smile at us.

"Oh and this is Lump, my Gronckle. Here, you can pet him." He said. All of us looked at the great beast uncertainly. Well, I'm going to the School of Dragons, so I should get used to working with them, I thought. I held my breath and patted it's nosehorn. It nuzzled my hand and gave a friendly growl. I took back my hand slowly and smiled.

"Ah, he likes you. Now, why don't you all tell me your names?" The other boys stated their names first, and I noticed they added titles to them, like, "Gruffle the Triumphant," or "Barn the Axe-Wielder,". When it was my turn, I stated my name, Fred Kulson Jr. One of the other teenagers added, "- the roaming chicken." with a sneer. I turned around and looked at the boy who said it while Mr. Ack told the boys something else. "What did you say?" I asked him in confusion.

"Oh, don't you know, that's your nickname we made up for you. Since you're from the chicken clan and your the first to roam about outside those rainy mountains," the boy replied haughtily. I pondered whether to respond to this for a moment.

"You know what, I kind of like it. I am the first one to be able to explore new lands in my clan. I think I'll keep that name." I replied. The boy's smug smile disappeared and was replaced with a sigh. I turned back to Mr. Ack who had just asked us to come in. He showed us to a large room that had blankets on the ground. Some boys that looked to be from different tribes greeted us.

"You can choose any spot that isn't already taken," Mr. Ack explained, "Lunch is in an hour and a half and dinner is an hour before sunset. You can explore the village, but remember to be back here by sunset." We all thanked him and I chose a spot near a window. I unrolled my blanket and set down my sacks near it. The other boys put their blankets as far from me as possible. I sighed and dug through the sack that held my personal belongings. I got out my journal and wrote about Berk and all it's wonders. When I got to the part when I wrote about my paying the captain with the Kulman dagger, I sighed and wondered when I'd see my family again. I was free to do what I wanted, but I missed the calm voice of my father guiding me and the tender voice of my mother telling me that dinner was ready. I wished I could write them, but it could take months for me to find a trade ship that was going to the south that could carry my letter. I realized, though, that the ship that brought me here could take a letter back. As I wondered how much it cost I wrote a letter to my family.

Dear Dad, Mom, Gunner, Ralfa, and the proud Kulman clan,

We reached Berk on the tenth day of our journey, and I am now safely on its shores. What a journey! Sea travel is less exciting than I thought it would be, but all the new places we saw along the way were amazing! We even stopped on an island where there were wild dragons, which is a totally new experience to me. And how can I even begin to describe Berk, the amazing city of dragons? They have huge wood buildings and their great hall is inside a mountain! And the dragons themselves, so numerous and so diverse! They even have funny rock-like ones with bee wings! The chief's dragon is the greatest of them all, however. The Chief said he can break the speed of sound! I can't wait till tomorrow when I leave for the School of Dragons, but I miss you all dearly. Unfortunately this will be the last letter I will be able to send in many months, but remember that I love you all and I am always thinking of you. You can count on me!

Yours truly,

Fred Kulson Jr.

What did you think?